Ericsson ConsumerLab reveals digital lives of Generation Z in India

Extensive study across 16 cities in India reveals the digital lives of kids (9-11 years), tweens (12-15 years) and teens (16-18 years) in India, a group called Generation Z.
Around 30 million of 69 million urban Generation Z consumers own mobile phones, and 3 million of these use mobile broadband on their phones
Kids explore new technology and use the mobile phone in the same way as their older counterparts.
Parents using mobile broadband are more likely to introduce their children to the technology.

Ericsson’s new ConsumerLab study, The Digital Lives of Generation Z, reveals the impact of technology on the lives of India’s young mobile-phone users in cities. The report shows that even the youngest age group (9-11 years) shows advanced technology adoption and mobile-internet usage similar to their older counterparts.

Fredrik Jejdling, Head of Region, Ericsson India, says: "This report captures the insights of a dynamic consumer group. These young people will shape mobile consumption for our industry.

"As a technology leader in mobile broadband, managed services and OSS/BSS, we conduct extensive research to partner our operators in understanding new trends of consumption."

The key findings show that mobile ownership is catching on at an early age, with 30 million out of 69 million urban members of Generation Z owning mobile phones. Some 21 percent of urban Indian kids and tweens mirror mobile-internet-services usage as seen among their older counterparts. In fact, kids and tweens are more likely than teens to stream a video on YouTube once a week. They spend roughly seven hours daily with gadgets on mobile phones, watching TV and using gaming consoles. A total of 58 percent of Generation Z is now willing to give up watching TV in favor of browsing the internet on a mobile phone.

Social media is becoming more important for the Generation Z with 77% venting their frustration on poor service experience over social media which leads them to expect instant resolution of their issues and queries and constant feedback via social media itself.

Mobile-broadband adoption within this segment is driven by family dynamics. Parents using mobile broadband were more likely to introduce their children to the technology as well. Today, 3 million mobile-broadband users in urban India are aged under 18, and 35 percent of non-users with capable handsets are willing to take up mobile broadband in the next 3 months.

Only one in three urban parents are able to keep track of their children’s communication activities, and expect service providers to offer services in order to manage and monitor their children’s mobile and internet usage. A total of 76 percent of the urban parents expect service providers to provide them with call and message log details of their kids &nash; 63 percent of parents are interested in an app to block unwarranted content. Interestingly, 30 percent of 9-18 year olds use a privacy screen to prevent others from seeing their phone.